So, if 'Urban' music is on its way out, then surely all we have left is ...

Country music! Bring on the yodelling cowboys!

Actually, to be a little more serious, from an outsider's viewpoint (ie non-American), and with a historical perspective, with a heavy heart and to generalise horribly, I'd say that black 'mainstream' American music is 'tired' and has been since probably the late '80s in many ways. The fires of innovation that seemed to fuel this music since the jazz and blues foundations of late 19th - early 20th century now seem to be running out of fuel. There have been no true new styles in the music since hip hop, I suppose (which I personally dislike in general), just evermore watered down variations on so-called 'R n' B'.

Whether this is part of some greater social/ cultural problem or lack of problems (since so much great black American music seemed to emerge from adversity) in American society, I am not qualified to say.

But hey, they do say the customer gets what they deserve ...

And there's still some good stuff, if you dig deep enough for it.
[Edited 6/26/08 14:36pm]

Kanyitis" is a temporary, yet frequent, illness that afflicts singers and rappers alike, wherein an artist waits until the precise moment they are in front of a camera, microphone or reporter to say something shocking and stupid, which will then be quoted by bloggers and searched on YouTube ad nauseum. Then the artist has to explain what they "really" meant, but by that time everyone already thinks they're nuts and doesn't care about a retraction.

Great article. They left out Shitney Houston but it was still a great article. Another thing is when it became pop, well, hell, that's getting back to Shitney again.

1. I hate the phrase "urban music." I hate people using the term urban. Excuse my language, but it's so fucking racist and disgusting.

2. I almost took that seriously until the donkey actually stated that Biggie, Pac, and Aaliyah were good artists.

Like it or not, hip hop, corporations, P(even though he's talented), and Mike(even though he's talented)killed our music.

Nice article though there are some things I disagree with, lol.
[Edited 6/26/08 14:42pm]

TRUTH !!!!

Dance said:

it took me a while to understand what they were talking about when they'd talk about "urban radio" or "urban music". for the longest time, i was like "so this is music meant for city folk?" and then i thought it was weird that most of it was R&B and hip-hop and then i realized what was going on.

i think it's a very passive-aggressive, insulting label. do we have "rural music"?

Urban music is supposed to mean hip-hop and R&B bunched up together, which really is stupid now that I think about it.

BlaqueKnight said:

um, yeah. i've known what "urban music" is for quite a long time. i wasn't trying to say i just learned TODAY what it is. i was talking about when i first heard the term being used on a regular basis, which was several years back.

but thanks for the observation and sorry for the misunderstanding.

Anxiety said:

My bad.
[Edited 6/26/08 15:13pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

it happens

Dance said:

Just cuz you don't like them doesn't mean they didn't make significant contributions to their respective genres. And I totally agree with the comment about Aaliyah not being the greatest singer but she was definitely into experimentation and broadening her musical horizons. Unlike these cookie cutter hood chics that just wanna rock Chanel.

Anxiety said:

rural music = country, blues, & folk

BlaqueKnight said:

I'm a non-viewer.

TonyVanDam said:

BLUES is "rural"???

Anxiety said:

It is these days, unless you go to the French Quarters in New Orleans. Otherwise, the urban areas is trap within hip-hop & rock. And Little Rock isn't any better neither (IMO).

TonyVanDam said:

if rock/hip-hop are "urban music" and country/folk/blues are "rural music", then what are jazz and classical - "suburban music"???

Anxiety said:

Sounds about right. Jazz/Classical/Easy Listening = 35+ crowd.

6. Lazy A&R Departments: Did you know that A&R people are also responsible for Artist Development? Probably not, since these days a newly-signed artist is more likely to be stripped of their identity and given one that falls in step with what's popular or, even worse, none at all. Take Cheri Dennis, for example. While her album has a respectable amount of solid R&B tracks, we still don't know who Cheri Dennis is, what sets her apart from everyone else or even what she sounds like. But, she has earned the distinction of being signed to her label for nearly a decade with no album to speak of. Did the A&R department utilize that time by playing Spades? Probably.

WOW! 10 YEARS! OMG! They straight up ROBBED her of her career! That's evil. What the hell was she thinking signing a 10 year contract? I may go out and buy that poor girl's CD and a sympathy purchase.

BlaqueKnight said:

Yeah that's FUCKED UP!

BlaqueKnight said:

1 agree, but the problem has more to to with a fact that labels refuse to release new albums until the artist finally make a hit...
2 agree
3 Irrelevant
4 agree, but irrelevant
5 irrelevant
6 Disagree, A&R Departments ain't lazy, they pander to what they think is gonna sell.
7 irrelevant
8 I agree, but I'msorry there's no R&B beefs...
9 Disagree
10 Disagree, ringtonshas northing to do with stripped-down keyboard beats
11 Agree
12 Disagree
13 STRONGLY agree
14 irrelevant
15 Agree, but irrelevant
16 Agree, but irrelevant
17 irrelevant
18 irrelevant
19 STRONGLY STRONGLY AGREE, but it's not just Singing Groups, it's also r&b/soul in gerenal,and it doesn't suprise me that it helps the emergence of so many successful blue eyed soul artists... Beside Beyonce and maybe Alicia, we haven't had great black singers in this decade... This is the worst decade ever... Singing has always been the trademark of black music, And most of them can't even perform, just tragic..
20 irrelevant
21 Disagree
22 Agree
23 Agree
24 Agree, but it is not only in Urban music but entertainment business in general
25 STRONGLY AGREE

Anxiety said:

Jazz is urban music that is most likely being trap in the same coffee house as the spoken words & poetry crowd.

BlaqueKnight said:

That too.

TonyVanDam said:

i think jazz broke from the whole bohemian/beatnik scene at least a couple of decades ago, if not longer. i can't think of any of my lit geek friends or of any writing profs i've had who has/had that poet/jazzcat mentality. most look toward rock music - stuff like springsteen, dylan, patti smith, etc.